This is a national stage application of PCT/SE99/02471 filed Dec. 22, 1999.
The present invention relates to a cleaning device, and specially an automatic cleaning device, which can be used for the cleaning of animal stalls, for example pigsties.
Today the cleaning of pigsties is a considerable problem for those who work with pig breeding. Pigsties have to be cleaned a fixed number of times per year and during the intervening time a lot of dung collects and packs down and forms a layer, which is extremely hard and difficult to remove.
According to the state of the art, during cleaning a so-called mist sprayer is used to wet, for example a pigsty or some other space which is to be cleaned. This can, for example, be switched on during the night so that when the working day begins the space that is to be cleaned and, in this case, especially the material in the pigsty in the form of solidified dung, which is to be removed, is properly moistened. Subsequently the space is cleaned manually through rinsing, for example with high-pressure water, possibly using some kind of cleaning material.
This work is fairly time-consuming because the material which is to be removed often is extremely firmly attached and when the material has been removed from the surface it has to be shovelled out into collection containers and removed from the premises. Quite apart from that the work is heavy and time-consuming, in the case of cleaning of pigsties and other animal living quarters it is extremely unhealthy. The gases and the mist that is formed when the material is wetted contain large amounts of ammonia and other harmful substances. Breathing in of these substances during cleaning often leads to long periods of time on the sick list with fever, nausea and possible allergic reactions, after the cleaning work. In order to avoid these it has-been suggested to provide automatic cleaning arrangements in order to perform the manual work. A known device slowly travels forward in a pathway in an animal stall. The device sprays high-pressure water into the spaces on both sides of the device which are to be cleaned, by means of long arms provided with nozzles through which the high-pressure water is sprayed. It however suffers from a number of problems.
In the first instance, this construction with long spray arms is not very suitable for use in, for example pigsties where there are a large number of water pipes, ventilation pipes, and other construction elements which make it difficult for this device in the first instance to advance and in the second instance to approach to make things clean, for example in so called suckling boxes where a large number of feed tubes and water tubes are arranged. Because the device constantly moves forward, it is furthermore completely dependent on that the passage in which it is moving is completely free from details such as pipes, ducts and the like, on the one hand for accessibility and on the other hand so that the arms will not be obstructed during the cleaning.
The biggest disadvantage with this known device is, however, that the cleaning that it is capable of performing is not sufficient in order to deal with the extreme soiling which can occur with the keeping of pigs. The device sprays water or another cleaning fluid to the sides in a random way in comparison with cleaning which is performed manually. In order to remove the hardened dirt the streams of cleaning fluid must be directed to the layers for a longer period of time in order to loosen the dirt, which the known device is not capable of doing.
The above-mentioned disadvantages with the known device make it fairly uninteresting for an ordinary pig farm, or another space which is to be cleaned, because as a result of its construction and its way of working, it is not able to perform the work which is normally performed manually, because, for example, the requirements of free space in, for example, the dung trough in a pigsty, which is required for a good function, is seldom, or never, present.
A central problem for such a device is that, as mentioned above, the cleaning must take place through prolonged treatment with a high-pressure jet of water or another cleaning fluid on the ingrained dirt until it has loosened.
A further problem, which is discussed above, is that the cleaning often is difficult because of obstacles in the shape of tubes and other devices are present in the space that is to be cleaned.
It consequently would be desirable to provide a device for automatic cleaning of above all pigsties, but even other spaces or premises which require a great deal of work during cleaning, which is capable of handling the above-mentioned problems in order to improve the working environment for those who work with, for example, pig breeding.
Consequently, it is therewith an object of the present invention to provide a method for automatic cleaning and an automatic cleaning device, which has satisfactory capacity in-order to be able to completely automatically clean, for example, a pigsty, or other animal stalls.
A further object with the present invention is to provide a method and a device which is especially suitable for the cleaning of such premises, which have problems with a large number of spaces with different appearances which require cleaning to be adapted for each space. An example of this, in connection with pigsties, is the fact that the individual boxes are different depending on factors such as the positioning of gates, ventilation ducts, walls and if it is a question of so-called suckling boxes where the piglets are born. These boxes are filled with a number of pipes and other devices which make cleaning extra complicated.
A further object with the present invention is to provide a method and a device which is capable of cleaning spaces, above all pigsties, where the dirt which is to be removed is firmly attached and must be removed through directed and prolonged treatment with high-pressure cleaning fluid.
The above objects are achieved in accordance with the invention by a method for automatic cleaning of, for example, pigsties, by means of an automatic cleaning device having driving means, cleaning means and a control unit.